When candlesnuff fungus first appears, it looks like short short upright bits of thread or thin string – or the wick of part-used candles. Somewhat later, the ends start to divide. The individual fruiting bodies take on a shape a little like the antlers of some deer. Hence the alternative name: stagshorn fungus.
Robin in a hedge by the canal at Castlecroft, making sure everyone knew that this was its territory.
One of the West Park squirrels lying in a fork in a tree, leisurely chewing some food it had gathered or been given.
One of two ring-necked parakeets which have taken up residence in West Park since the autumn. They may be a pair, and if so might breed – possibly nesting in the hole in the tree to the left of the bird.
These pictures are from the first time one of the birds was showing itself when I had at least a moderate telephoto lens with me. Both birds arrived together, but the other one promptly disappeared somewhere in the trees.
This one might be a female – it doesn’t have the red ring on the neck, a mark of males.
Apparently there are also four parakeets flying around Tettenhall.
The birds draw attention to themselves by their squawking – it seems impossible that something so small could be so noisy. When they are visible, the bright green plumage is just as distinctive.
Two views with oak trees, bare of leaves for the winter. Both pictures were taken on a walk along a footpath which runs along the edge of the Smestow valley between Swindon and Greensforge
Heron standing on the rail protecting the West Park boating lake island. It was holding its wings half open to catch the wintry sun as it watched the partly frozen lake.
Look out for the muscovy duck in one of the pictures.